"Glowing in the Distance" is arguably the most eloquent climb on the Ridgeline. It would probably receive a four star rating if it were just another 20 - 30 feet long. The route presents several individual "problem areas" forcing the climber to concentrate almost all the way up; and it seems that there are almost always several different handhold/ foothold combinations that can be used to surmount each cruxy zone. This built-in variation keeps the route from becoming a bore even after you have repeated it many times.

I found the trickiest section to rate somewhat lower than most of the climbers I've talked to regarding the degree of difficulty here -- almost all of them place it at 5.9- or even 5.9b -- so maybe I was lucky in finding a felicitous combination of high-stepping, and sideclings on my first ascent? Anyway, it did not quite seem a nine.

One warning: this portion of the Ridgeline face receives the direct sun in the mid morning, early afternoon, and that wash of light can "flatten" the area of the route, making recognition of the "proper" handholds difficult. As three or four of the positions on this route require a dependence on upper body strength, a delay in finding the next series of holds may put the climber in some jeopardy -- perhaps this is where the 5.9 ratings come in?

The route that shares the first bolt and goes left w 9+/10a climbing IS "Glowing". Tony's sandbagging it to 8+ and Rock Climbing Arizona calling it an entirely different name ("Gridlocked" 10 b/c) doesn't help the confusion.

The newer and easier route that shares the first bolt and then goes right is "Perrito".

This first time I climbed this I heard thunder in the distance at the start of the climb but wanted to get on this route. Awesome climb, very rewarding. By the time I was cleaning, there was huge hail and rain. Right before I started rapping, I saw a massive lightning strike on boneyard. It was breathtakingly amazing. We ran down the the river to our car in 5 minutes. It wasn't until the shock wore off that I realized the irony of actually seeing the glowing in the distance. Ridgeline classic.

One of my most challenging leads as a new climber. Very crimpy holds all the way up, with a 5 meter crux of sharp hands and feet. Went up in mid march and the weather was a cool 60(f) but there were some very high sustained winds at the top of the route.

The anchor also seemed to be a little more difficult to pass the rope through for the rap down so keep that in mind if you're bringing a fat rope.

Superb 5.9! Excellent quality of rock, mostly vertical climbing. I would not consider this PG13 in any form; on the contrary, it was well-bolted and felt very straightforward. On par with "Ego Donor" without the extra spice.